GOG Says Dune II Rerelease Faces Licensing Hurdles Beyond Electronic Arts

GOG’s Marcin Paczynski says a potential re-release of the 1992 real-time strategy game Dune II: Battle for Arrakis faces a complicated web of licensing rights.

Some players still remember the game and would like to see an enhanced version on modern platforms. But re-releasing it involves numerous copyright complications.

Speaking to GamesRadar+, Paczynski, GOG’s senior business development and partnerships manager, said re-releasing Dune II is “at the top of my personal list” because the RTS makes him deeply nostalgic. “This situation is a good example of just how bad game licensing can get,” he said.

Westwood Studios developed Dune II: Battle for Arrakis and was later acquired by Electronic Arts. EA now owns the game’s source code, assets, and related materials.

EA does not, however, own the Dune intellectual property. Dune II is based not on Frank Herbert’s books, but on the 1984 Universal Pictures film. The film’s producer, Dino De Laurentiis, died 15 years ago, and some of the film rights passed to his successors.

The Herbert Estate owns the rights to the intellectual property as a whole, while Legendary Pictures holds the rights to the newer films.

Legendary Pictures licensed studio Funcom to develop Dune games, including Dune: Awakening, under an exclusive agreement. GOG does not yet know how that agreement might affect a potential re-release of Westwood Studios’ Dune games.

Paczynski said the project’s fate depends on numerous other companies:

Source: iXBT.games